Kyle Finklea drilled a three-pointer for Immaculata to give the visitors a 65-58 lead at the 6:30 mark. However, Wilkes answered with an 11-2 spurt to take the lead. The freshman tandem of Anthony Gabriel and Tom Kresge did all the scoring for the Colonels during the run, with Gabriel canning seven points and Kresge adding four, including a basket off an assist from Matt Gould at the 2:52 mark that gave Wilkes a 69-67 lead.
Immaculata tied the game at 69-69 on a bucket by Jayson Hyman with 2:32 left. After Gould nailed a three-pointer to make it 72-69 Colonels, Hyman converted a traditional three-point play with 1:42 remaining to knot the count at 72-72.
Steve Kline would start the final run for Wilkes with a basket inside that gave his team a 74-72 edge with 1:21 showing on the clock. After an Immaculata turnover Gould hit the first of two free throws to extend the lead to 75-72 with 36 seconds left. Kline grabbed the offensive rebound on the second free throw by Gould and was immediately fouled with 33 seconds remaining. He would also hit one-of-two from the charity stripe to extend the lead to 76-72. Chris Gulla would add two free throws with 17 ticks left to provide the game’s final points.
The Colonels led for much of the first half, including their biggest margin of eight points that came following a Gabriel basket inside that made it 32-24 with 6:50 left in the opening stanza. The Mighty Macs would cut the lead to two points, 40-38, on a layup by Robert Jones with 45 seconds left in the period. But, Jeremy Kable knocked down a three-pointer as time expired in the half to provide Wilkes with a 43-38 lead at intermission.
Immaculata would use consecutive three-pointers by Julius Lopez to break a 47-47 tie and assume a 53-47 lead with 13:07 remaining. Wilkes mounted a charge to take a 57-56 lead on a Gulla field goal with 9:21 left.
The Mighty Macs followed with a 9-1 run of their own to take their largest lead of the game, 65-58. A free throw by Dan Lepone tied the game and Jones converted a three-point play to give Immaculata a 60-57 lead. Lepone would knocked down a jumper in the lane to make it 62-57 before Gabriel hit one free throw to cut the deficit to 62-58. But, Finklea connected on a three-pointer to give the Might Macs the 65-58 lead and set the stage for the Colonels final comeback.
Kresge cashed in a game-high 20 points in his collegiate debut, while also pulling down seven rebounds, handing out three assists and blocking a pair of shots. Kable added 13 points and five boards, while Gabriel had 12 points in his first college game. Gould gave Wilkes four players in double-figures by tossing in 10 points and hading out five assists, while Dan Adams contributed eight points and a game-high 11 rebounds.
Finklea led three Immaculata players in twin digits with 19 points, three assists and five steals. Hyman chipped in with 18 points, seven rebounds and four steals. Lepone added 10 tallies.